Chutzpah Review: Varun Sharma, Manjot Singh and co.’s dark but dull encounter with the internet

Series Name: Chutzpah

Cast: Varun Sharma, Manjot Singh, Gautam Mehra, Tanya Maniktala, Elnaaz Norouzi and Kshitij Chauhan

Director: Simarpreet Singh

Platform: Sony LIV

The digital platforms have given creators the levy to think out of the box and come up with unique content. Creator of Chutzpah, Mrighdeep Singh Lamba and director, Simarpreet Singh try to explore the dark world of internet with this coming-of-age series, touching upon the idea of online dating, and video chats among other things. While the idea is unique, it fails to create enough intrigue by the end of the first episode.

As they say, the grip in episode one of any series, primarily riding on relatively lesser-known faces, is the key to its success as that’s what pushes the viewers to proceed to the second one. With Chutzpah, the makers spend the first episode just introducing the characters and the concept, which though interesting for the first 5 mins, ends up as something pretentious and far-fetched by the end of episode.  

The makers opt for a color palette with the darker shades in the cinematography to give it a realistic vibe, but the drawback lies in the treatment of the stories. A premise like this can work only if supported by humor and one-liners, however, surprisingly, that falls flat as seldom does the narrative evoke the laughter. It’s as if the cast is trying too hard, but don't have the dialogues and scenarios to bring out the laughs.

Talking of performances, Varun Sharma plays the role of a NRI from a conservative Punjabi family, trying to maintain a long-distance relationship with Tanya Maniktala. The character falls in his comfort zone and he does well. Manjot Singh’s track is that of a shy guy, and much like Varun, the traits come naturally to the actor. Gautam Mehra as online content creator is rather loud in his approach to acting, whereas Prateek Chawla makes an attempt to be the Casanova. The other members of the cast are yet to make an appearance.

It’s a seven-episode series, however, if the first episode is anything to go by, this one seems to be a dull affair, with not much to offer on the content front. While the concept is novel, the writing and execution is rather pretentious, thereby failing to leave a mark.

(Note: This is a review of only the first episode.)

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